Self-as-Father: Perspectives and Experiences of Young Men on Becoming Fathers.

Nokwanele Mhlongo, University of KwaZulu Natal
Pranitha Maharaj, University of KwaZulu-Natal

In South Africa, most men often do not live with their children and have little involvement in their upbringing. However, recent studies have documented a pattern of greater paternal involvement when dealing with young fathers, but there is still an information gap on how young men perceive their role as fathers. The main objective of the study was to shed insights into the perceptions and experiences on becoming young fathers. The study draws on 15 one-to-one in-depth interviews with young fathers between the ages of 18 to 24 years residing in a rural area in South Africa. The results reveal that young fathers had negative experiences of fatherhood whilst growing up as many of them also had absent fathers. Young, unemployed fathers felt emasculated as they were not able to assume the role of a provider. Despite this, the findings underscores that young fathers aspire to be more involved, better and different from their own biological fathers.